Friday, August 26, 2011

A 33-year-old man is guilty of bludgeoning a priest to death in August 1992, a verdict that brings closure to a murder mystery that stumped police for 15 years.

A 12-member jury unanimously found Derrick Odomes guilty of second degree murder Thursday afternoon following a two-day trial.

Prosecutors argued that Odomes bludgeoned the Rev. Hunter Horgan to death Aug. 13, 1992, inside the priest's office in St. John's Episcopal Church in Thibodaux. Odomes, who was 14 years old in 1992, was arrested in September 2007.
....

District Judge John E. LeBlanc, who presided over the trial, ruled last year that Odomes can't be sentenced if convicted of the slaying because he was a juvenile at the time of Horgan's death.

But Odomes received a life sentence last week as a result of six felony convictions he has racked up in the 19 years since the alleged murder, ensuring he will face significant jail time regardless of the outcome of the murder trial.

The article reveals details which I never knew before and which I'd rather not know now, but there it is.

Pray for Fr Hunter Horgan's family and all who loved him, including the parishioners at St John's, that God will give them comfort, consolation, and the peace that passes understanding to keep their minds and hearts.

Pray for Derrick Odomes. Some won't like that I ask for prayers for Derrick, but Jesus said pray for your enemies. That is enough for me.

Friday, May 6, 2011

A man accused of killing a priest more than 18 years ago was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday for intimidating a witness while serving time in the Lafourche Parish jail.

Derrick Odomes, 32, is accused of bludgeoning the Rev. Hunter Horgan to death in August 1992 inside the rectory of St. John's Episcopal Church in Thibodaux. Odomes was 14 at the time of the priest's death. He was arrested and charged with the killing in September 2007, though a judge ruled last year that he can't be sentenced if convicted because of his age at the time of Horgan's death.

Odomes was convicted of witness intimidation in late January following allegations that Odomes exposed himself to Haley Burkett, a Lafourche Parish jail guard, resulting in Odomes being charged with obscenity.

Burkett told the jury that Odomes threatened her in March 2010, months after she filed the obscenity charge, telling her he would come after her after he got out of jail.

“The victim was put in an untenable position and was unable to do her job by threat of violence,” said District Judge John Leblanc before handing down the five-year sentence.

Leblanc said his decision was the “only appropriate sentence” because of Odomes' “utter disregard for the circumstances” of his imprisonment.

When people speak of closure, I have to wonder if there is any such thing. That the authorities were able to determine from DNA evidence that Odomes is quite likely the alleged murderer of Fr Hunter Horgan all these many years ago, was a relief to the members of the church and to the entire community. But there is certainly no closure, at least so far as I am concerned. I'm relieved that an alleged murderer is off the streets, but the news keeps coming in. There will be a trial for the murder for which the alleged killer cannot be sentenced. There will very likely be appeal after appeal before the case comes to a resolution.

While the judge's ruling rules out prison time on the murder charge, Odomes has five prior felony convictions and two outstanding felony charges — theft and obscenity — that could land him in jail for decades.

So we wait. And in the meantime, I pray for all who love Fr Horgan, and I pray for Derrick Odomes, and I pray that justice will be done.

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BLOGGERS' PRAYER

"Almighty God, you proclaim your truth in every age by many voices: Direct, in our time, we pray, those who speak where many listen and write what many read; that they may do their part in making the heart of this people wise, its mind sound, and its will righteous; to the honor of Jesus Christ our Lord."Book of Common Prayer

GOD'S PRESENCE

"O my God, since Thou art with me, and I must now, in obedience to Thy commands, apply my mind to these outward things, I beseech Thee to grant me the grace to continue in Thy presence; and to this end do Thou prosper me with Thy assistance, receive all my works, and possess all my affections."Brother Lawrence

LADY ENTHRONED

Luiz Coelho, Jr.

“Let those who have a voice, speak out for the voiceless.”Óscar Romero

"How can you initiate someone and then treat them like a half-assed baptized?"The Rt Rev Barbara Harris

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant."Martin Luther King

"Silence is the voice of complicity."Fr. Roy Bourgeois

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THE AFTERLIFE

“So, is there an afterlife, and if so, what will it be like? I don't have a clue. But I am confident that the one who has buoyed us up in life will also buoy us up through death. We die into God. What more that means, I do not know. But that is all I need to know.” Marcus Borg - Speaking Christian: Why Christian Words Have Lost Their Meaning and Power

"Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì."

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On occasion, Wounded Bird, indulges in irony.

"I hope that I never ridicule what is wise or good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen